Prep Baseball: Tigers get 2nd chance in all-star game

Sunday

Jun 22, 2014 at 1:38 PMJun 22, 2014 at 1:38 PM

By Matt TrowbridgeRockford Register Star

LOVES PARK — If Byron looked like an all-star team this year when it broke the school record for victories by 10 wins and reached the Class 2A state title game, it’s because, in retrospect, the Tigers were an all-star team.

Seven Tigers are expected to start tonight for coach Ray Bielskis in the Big Northern-NIC-10 senior all-star baseball game at Aviators Stadium.

“It’s fitting to be able to coach these guys in their last game,” Bielskis said.

It’s also fitting that the Tigers can go out together, after not getting that chance at state. The state final was called after a four-hour rain delay with Byron (36-6) trailing Pleasant Plains 7-2 with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the sixth.

“The seniors playing together here are looking forward to it,” Bielskis said. “It’s one last hurrah. It should be fun.”

Last year, the Big Northern juniors beat the NIC-10 12-4 for the only win by the small schools in the four year history of this event, which features a junior all-star game at 4:30 p.m. followed by a senior game. The Big Northern seniors also had their best game last year, leading 6-0 early before falling 8-7.

Byron center fielder Austin Carlson played left field last year in the junior game, but Bielskis told him he could play center this year.

“When you are coaching your own kids in an all-star game, sometimes you don’t give them as many opportunities, but I am not going to hold back this time,” he said. “I told him he can play center field and I will probably start all seven of them. It’s fitting to play all seven of them to start the game and go from there.”

No pitcher can throw more than two innings in this all-star format. NIC-10 senior coach Dennis Kehrer said he will throw nine different pitchers in the nine innings of the senior game. NIU recruit Donovin Sims of Hononegah leads the NIC-10 pitchers. NIC-10 MVP Will Troia of Boylan, who had an ERA of 0.46, is the biggest name in the junior all-star game.

The senior game should be especially interesting. Kehrer said the majority of his NIC-10 team played on the junior squad that lost last year.

“It’s a friendly, fun atmosphere,” Kehrer said, “but both sides are fired up. The Big Northern is pretty stacked on paper and wants to show they are the same caliber as the NIC-10 and deserve the same respect. And this year the NIC-10 wants to redeem themselves for their loss as juniors. It’s a friendly rivalry, but they will go after each other.”